I’m back with weekly recaps! Hyper-observant readers of my blog might notice that Weeks #30 and #31 don’t exist, the former because I forgot and the latter because it was actually A Week in Slovenia.
Mom and I finished up our vacation on Monday. In some ways it was hard to return – being in Slovenia rekindled my wanderlust in a big way, planting visions of new jobs in new European countries in my brain. This is unfortunate, since I literally just committed to staying in Greece for another year. But it’s also pretty standard, since my reaction to any kind of commitment is usually “JUST KIDDING OMG THIS IS SCARY.” Most commitments, anyway. The great thing about returning was getting back to my cat-shaped cuddle-monster, Hans Harrison.
On Tuesday, my mom and I did a lot of shopping, both practical and fun. We went to the mall, an hour-long journey that got us thinking about the differences of city and country travel. At home in Illinois, my cousins live an hour away, and we rarely visit because it’s just so far. In Athens, it takes about an hour to get to church or visit some of my closest friends (it takes that long to go…about five miles, wow, Google Maps just blew my mind). At the mall we watched the newest Star Trek movie, which set off a wave of laziness culminating in watching movies the next two nights as well (at home, on a laptop).
During the daytimes of Wednesday and Thursday, however, I went back to work! One of my favorite things about having people visit me is that I get to show them HD and let them participate in things at the safe house. Without fail, people are far more emotionally invested in supporting HD once they’ve toured the building and met the staff and participants.
In particular, on Thursday Mom led a craft session with the participants. She brought a ton of card-making supplies, and we made 48 greeting cards for various occasions. My mom will take them back to the States to sell and raise money for HD! I love seeing how people’s personalities are revealed in new situations, even in card making. Some freak out, paralyzed by the threat of creativity. Others go robot, mindlessly churning out repetitive cards. Others bite off more than they can chew, spending 45 minutes to create one perfect card. Anyway, I’m glad my mom got to experience my work life for a couple days! I love what I do and who I do it with, and I love sharing it with others.
On Friday morning, Anthi volunteered to drive my mom and I to the airport to drop her off. On the way back home, she asked if I wanted to go to the beach with her and some friends, but I said, “Nope, it’s my last day of vacation.” She looked at me in concern and said, “Most people think going to the beach is a vacation.” I, however, only wanted to curl up in bed with a book and be super alone for a few days.
…With a few hours-long break on Saturday, when Kendra came over to meet a more social Hans Harrison and then spend a long morning at the coffee shop in the park near my house. As always, we had such a great conversation about perfectionism, fundraising, and the trials of living abroad (“I miss my social circle. I miss having MULTIPLE social circles. I think I’m a pretty fun person…why don’t I have more friends??” “SAME.”) Then I spent the rest of the day repotting plants, reading, and watching TV shows. Perfect weekend.
It Is Trish 